1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera unit having a camera built into a body. In particular, the present invention is related to the structure of the body of the in-vehicle camera unit.
2. Related Art
Recent year, techniques for equipping an in-vehicle camera on board and using the images taken by the in-vehicle camera are put to practical use. There is a technique for assisting a user to drive a vehicle on the basis of images taken by in-vehicle camera as an example of such techniques (JP-U-1993-32191).
Sometimes the in-vehicle camera is attached to a windshield of the vehicle.
In a case where the windshield of the vehicle slopes forward and downward, the in-vehicle camera is positioned under the windshield. When dew condensation forms on the inside surface of the windshield, the dew drop may fall on the lens of the in-vehicle camera. Alternatively, the dew drop which has fallen on other areas may flow down other surfaces and reach the lens. In this case, the image-recognition capability may be reduced or lost.